I would say that Japan is just like most anywhere else in the world.

Life is what you make of it - it isn`t magically better just because you`ve changed surroundings. It`s no different than moving to another city in your own country in that sense. If you do pretty much the same things, your life isn`t necessarily going to improve.

As for weirdness, that really is subjective. After 10 years of living in Japan, I find the US weird when I read the news or visit.

MMM: Yh it is.. I know that my mom said that beatrice said that her neighbor said that he couldn't wait to come home.. they were really rude to him and so on.. i don't know what its all about but now my mom has "forbidden" me to go to japan, :S (but i'm going some day) I just know that he didn't say any nice things about the japanese people, culture or the country....... Z:

Really?
Thank you very much for pointing that out
On a different social network some guy said "Japan is the most racist country in the world" and 1 of his reasons was because of the "Japanese only places".

I dunno I guess the big push is just getting there in the first place.

I have absolutely no problem teaching english. In fact I wanted to do that before I ever considered going to Japan.

I have another question, is it good to start young? I'm 17 and I want to teach and work in Japan. But I feel like maby I'm rushing things, that I don't need to plan so far ahead. But I'm super afraid of....y'know, not making it. Becouse I come from a really low income family. I can't just pay my way there, I feel like I have to be better than the next guy to go.

I know that was a real trip away from my original question but it feels nice to have that off my chest.

I'm from a poor family myself... I could not have afforded to go to Japan for a trip if I had to pay for it myself. That's one of the great things about JET. They pay for your airfare and everything. Many private schools expect you to get to Japan with your own money.

I'd say go to university, get your degree, maybe hang out with Japanese exchange students in the US and teach them about your area while they teach you about Japan, Japanese language, culture, etc. You have plenty of time, I didn't go till I was 24 (nearly 25).

It isn't for everyone, that is for sure. I don't know what his expectations were, but many people are surprised by what they experience. Rude neighbors are a fact of life anywhere in the world...

I don't know how you would qualify "most racist". The fact that is a much more homogenous country than most countries, and on an island, and cut off from the world during an extended part of its history means that many Japanese HAD lots of misconceptions about foriegners, but I think that is mostly limited to the oldest generation now. When I was there in March it was the first time I had ever walked through Osaka for a few days and never once felt like I was treated like anything other than a human being. I was not treated better or worse for being foreign.

If the amount of "No Foriegners" signs is all it takes to decide if a country is racist or not, considering I may have seen 2 during the three years I lived there, and both were at whore houses, should be a good sign for Japan.

I was 22 when I went on JET, and even now that feels a little too young to me. I wasn't very responsible with money, and didn't save nearly as much as I should have (but came home with some great toys and some interesting stories).

Cool, Sorry I didn't know what I was freaking out about. It was just me being paranoid...:o

Thank you very much for replying on my post.^^
I really like the answers you wrote down here, so I think I'm much more certain then I was before, arigato gozaimasu!

O! My age is currently 22.:)

Matane!